


Healing

by Vodkaqqiq



Category: Danganronpa, danganronpa v3 - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Childhood Trauma, Eating Disorders, Hospitalization, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Sexual Assault, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Therapy, Trust Issues, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27438514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vodkaqqiq/pseuds/Vodkaqqiq
Summary: Korekiyo wakes up in a hospital bed just moments after he remembers dying. He’ll soon find out that all of V3 was staged, and no one actually died. Now everyone must undergo therapy from Team Danganronpa to heal from the trauma they went through in the killing game.
Relationships: Amami Rantaro/Shinguji Korekiyo, Gokuhara Gonta/Shinguji Korekiyo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

Memories are a fuzzy and unstable thing, and shouldn’t be relied on. Despite this, people use it as a reliable source of information in their daily lives. To many, memories are comforting, reminding them of times where they had fun, or times when they were with loved ones. People who can look back fondly at their memories are the luckiest people in the world. Not all people can do that. Trauma consumes most.

Korekiyo could vividly recall what had happened to him before he blacked out. Monokuma called for his execution, as he was found out to be Angie and Tenko’s killer. He sat, bound by red rope, in a large water-filled cauldron. The Monokubs swiftly went to work, lighting a match and throwing wooden block after wooden block underneath the large pot. The fire grew, and he felt the heat travel up into the water surrounding him.

His skin was the first to go, peeling off of him from the sheer heat. He tilted his head up, trying to not let the same happen to his face. He clamped his jaw shut tightly, grinding his teeth through the pain. He desperately tugged his wrists against the rope, trying to get free somehow.

His fat was the second to go, though it’s not like he had much. The heat intensified, and he felt what little fat he had on his thin body quite literally melt off of him. He screamed, his voice cracking as he tugged harder on the ropes that bound him. He reflexively jerked his body to try to escape, but all it did was make him wiggle in place. 

His muscles were the last to go, as they quickly atrophied and detached from his bones. He screamed even harder than before, his throat hoarse and strained. His organs began to cook inside of him, and he felt the heat rise to his throat. He tried to scream again, but was instead greeted with the unpleasant feeling of blood spurting out of his mouth and nose. His face mask blocked the exit of the blood coming out of him, and it redirected back into his mouth. He gagged on his own blood, suffocating, trying to get a breath of air. His back reflexively arched and his head faced upwards as his organs boiled and his blood rose higher. He felt the back of his eyes burn as blood streamed from their sockets. 

As he struggled and jerked, trying to be free of this pain, he made a split-second decision. He dipped his head under the water, praying that it would kill him quickly. The last thing he remembered feeling was the hot water scalding his face.

Despite this violent ending, he woke up quite peacefully. His eyes slowly opened as harsh white light attacked his eyes. He put his arm up, blocking a bit of the light from hurting his eyes. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and he surveyed the room while he did. The room was reminiscent of a hospital, with light cream walls and aforementioned white lights. He was in a twin-sized white bed with very thin sheets, and a counter with a sink sat attached to the wall beside him. In the corner of the room has a small gray security camera pointed directly at him.

He sat up, rubbing his face with his hands. As his palms went over his cheeks, he felt a familiar feeling of fabric.

He pulled back, noticing that his hands and arms were fully bandaged, as they usually were. He brought a finger back to his mouth, right over his lips, and once again felt fabric.  _ I still have my face mask on.  _ He concluded, laying his arm back down to his lap. Other than his mask and bandages, the only thing he was wearing was a light blue hospital gown. His feet poked out from under the sheets, and his face contorted into confusion as he saw they were not mutilated in the slightest.  _ Shouldn’t they be injured?  _ He thought, faintly recalling his execution. 

Though confused, he remained calm and continued to survey the room. He noticed a small table to his left, and just past it two chairs with cushions on the seat. Right above them was a small window with curtains pulled back that seemed to look into a hallway. As he looked towards the window, he saw a few people in scrubs pass by, which he could only assume were nurses. Before he could do anything else, the door to his room opened.

“You’re awake!” a calm voice said as a nurse walked towards him. She had a clipboard in her hand, and she quickly scribbled something down. “You’re Korekiyo Shinguji, if I’m not mistaken. How do you feel?”

“Whats happening?” Korekiyo asked faintly, rubbing his left temple. “Sh-shouldn’t I be dead?”

“Oh, dear.” The nurse sat in the chair beside him and folded her arms in her lap. “You must be terribly confused. It’s alright, dear. Everything will be explained shortly.” She stood back up, and put out a hand. “I’ll need you to come with me.”

He stared at her hand for a beat, but obliged. He put his hand into hers, and she gently tightened her grip. He shuffled out of his bed as she led him out of the room, and into the hallway. The hall was much longer than what Korekiyo had imagined it to be, but then again, he didn’t really know where he was anyway. She stopped in front of a doorway and turned to him.

“What you’re about to see is going to be confusing, but I promise it will all make sense. You’re just going to have to trust me. Is that okay?” He nodded curtly, and with the confirmation she lead him into the room

The room was very big, it almost reminded him of a classroom. Light purples and pinks striped the walls, which also adorned large windows to the outside. Couched and bean bags littered the cream-carpeted floor, with a large circular blue mat in the middle of it all. Students from the killing game were all across the room, doing various things. He saw Tenko and Angie sitting in one of the couches, happily cradling a crying Himiko. He saw Gonta frantically talking to Miu, who was staring angrily at the corner of the room. Korekiyo looked to the corner of the room, where Kokichi was sitting with his knees to his chest next to a concerned-looking Kiibo. He saw Kirumi sobbing as she held the hands of Ryoma, who looked like he was trying to reassure her. He saw Kaito and Maki in a deep embrace, looking as if they would cry at any moment. And last, but not least, he saw Rantaro and Kaede making light conversation on the bean bags. They noticed him first, and waved him over. Korekiyo hesitated, then quickly shuffled over to them.

“Kiyo! How’re you doing, buddy?” Rantaro asked, lightly hitting his back. He seemed oddly cheerful in this type of situation.

“Confused.” He responded, his eyebrows furrowing. “Aren’t all three of us dead?”

“That’s why I said!” Kaede chimed, sitting up onto her knees. “But they said they’ll explain in due time, so-” She was cut off as someone new entered. Everyone in the room paused and looked up at them. 

It was Shuichi.

Without a second to waste, Kaede jumped up and ran to him, hugging him deeply. Shuichi was started by this, and hesitated for a moment, before putting his arms around her to return the hug. He buried his face into her shoulder, tears streaming down his face. This went on for a solid few seconds before everyone else got up and rushed towards them, all saying some greeting or other to Shuichi. Kaito put his arms around both of them, hugging them even tighter. Korekiyo and Rantaro were the only ones still sitting, the latter smiling at the scene in front of them.

“Alright!” One of the nurses chimed, clapping her hands together. “That’s the last one, so everyone is in here now. Please take a seat and we’ll begin shortly.”

“Everyone?” Kaeda pulled her face away from Shuichi to face the nurse. “Tsumugi isn’t here.”

“We won’t need to worry about her…” Shuichi responded, lowering his head. Kaede looked confused, but she trusted his judgement. Everyone quickly moved to sit down on the couches and bean bags, each forming small groups as they did so. Shuichi, Kaede, Kaito, and Maki formed a group as they all sat across the room on bean bags. Rantaro sighed deeply before sinking deeper into his bean bag.

A few more nurses entered the room, and someone new followed them in. Tsumugi strolled in, seeming happy. She wasn’t wearing a hospital gown like the rest of her classmates, but instead wore clothes exactly like she did during the killing game. She centered herself against the wall, and began to speak.

“Hello, everyone! As you all know, I’m Tsumugi Shirogane. Most of you know me as the Ultimate Cosplayer, but some of you know me as someone different.” She scanned the room playfully. “Truthfully, I was never the Ultimate Cosplayer. It was all an act. I’m  _ really _ the mastermind of the killing game.” A few students gasped, most looked disgusted, Shuichi and Maki lowered their heads. Rantaro sighed again, closing his eyes.

“The killing game was all fake, as you can see by your surviving classmates here. The game was created by me and others in team Danganronpa. We’re an entertainment group who records and streams this killing game to everyone around the world. I will say, this season had some lovely ratings.” She surveyed the room again, eating up everyones reactions.

“So everything was scripted?” Himiko piped up, clinging to Tenko.

“Well, not everything.” Tsumugi responded coyly. “I personally wrote all of your memories and backstories, and we used our technology to implant these into your brain. Unfortunately, when we did this, it erased all of your real memories to make room for your fabricated ones. All of your new memories, despite never having happened, will still feel very real to all of you. For the sake of your recovery, we advise you to treat them as if they all actually happened to you.” She paused for a moment. “Other than your memories, the only things that were scripted were Monokuma and the Monokubs. You yourselves took upon all the killing.”

“Then how are we not dead?” Miu yelled, jumping up as her fingers dug into the couch’s arm. Kiibo put his hands around her shoulders, trying to calm her down. “Miu…”

“That’s a very good question, Miu.” Tsumugi chimed, leaning in her direction. “Team Danganronpa was watching what was happening the entire time. Through some special effects and interference, none of you actually died. It might’ve felt like you died, but we made sure to remove you and replace you with a body dummy before that could actually happen.” She straightened her back again. “Don’t ask how, it’ll just confuse you. We’ve done this for a while, so we’ve pretty much perfected it.”

Miu still looked angry, but she shut her mouth and reluctantly sat back down. 

“So, that is what happened. You’re all here to receive therapy after what happened. From this point on, we will refer to what happened as “The game” for your own safety. If someone was killed, please just say “Removed from the game.” And, as I said before, though your memories are technically fake, your brain perceives them to be real, so treat them as if they actually happened to you.” She walked over to the window, peeking outside. “This is all put together to help you heal and live a normal, communal lifestyle here in this building. There will be one-on-one therapy and group therapy for all of you.” She looked back to the group. “We advise that you all make up over what happened in the game.” 

She walked back over to the door, being ready to leave. While still in the doorway, she turned around to her classmates one last time. “For the sake of those who were removed from the game early, I will tell you all what happened. I removed Rantaro from the game, though we all managed to convince Kaede that it was her. Kirumi removed Ryoma from the game, Korekiyo removed Tenko and Angie from the game, Gonta removed Miu from the game, and Kaito removed Kokichi from the game. Kiibo sacrificed himself to free Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko, removing me from the game in the process.” She turned away, exiting the room. “You can hate me for doing this, if it’ll make you heal faster. I really don’t care if you do or not.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a shorter chapter, I wasn’t sure where to go after the ending of the last chapter. Things should get easier for me to connect from here on out! Also apologies for the weird formatting, I’m doing this on mobile. It should be fixed soon.

After Tsumugi left, the students erupted into conversation. Rantaro sat up from his position and stretched his arms high above him. He glanced over to Korekiyo, who was sitting cross legged nearby, staring at the floor. He scooted a few inches over, sitting a bit closer to him than before. “You okay, Kiyo?” He asked, pulling up a knee while his other leg stretched out.

“Why do you care?” Korekiyo responded, shifting his eyes to meet the others gaze.

He shrugged. “Everyone else is talking, but we’re both by ourselves. We’re here to heal, aren’t we?”

“And you’re just…  _ okay  _ with this?” He retorted, looking back to the floor. He brought his knees to his chin, wrapping his arms around his calves. Rantaro sighed in response, and looked to the window. 

“To be honest, I knew this would happen.”

“What?” He sputtered, swinging his head to look at Rantaro.

“Well, not this  _ exactly,  _ but something like this.” He put his elbows behind him onto the floor and tilted his chin up to stretch his neck. “I knew the game was fake. That’s why I was so adamant about trying to stop it.”

“How... how did you know?”

“I was in the game before this one.” He sat back up, crossing his legs again. “I don’t really remember it, but there's bits and pieces. I think that’s why I was removed from the game so quickly, because I was close to uncovering the mastermind.”

Korekiyo stared at him for a moment longer, before averting his eyes back to the floor. They both sat next to each other as others moved around and talked. Some left the room and went down the hall, but most stayed to chat. Minutes passed before Rantaro spoke up again.

“You never answered my question, Kiyo.” He said playfully. “Are you okay? How’re you feeling?”

“Tired.” He said, getting up. He made his way to the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Rantaro asked, jumping up to follow up.

“My room.”

“Why?” He stepped in front of Korekiyo, blocking him from leaving. “We’re supposed to be talking here. You can’t just go be by yourself.”

“I highly doubt anyone here wants to talk to me after what I did.” Korekiyo lightly pushed past and started to go down the hall.

“I want to talk to you!” He persisted, following along. “The best thing about me leaving the game so early is that I don’t know anything about any of you, not really. If no one else will talk to you, I can still help you.” They both stopped in front of Korekiyo’s door. “If not for you, then for me. I don’t really have a connection with anyone here…” He scratched the back of his neck. “I need someone to talk to, too.”

Korekiyo sighed deeply, turning to face him. “I’m not sure you’ll like talking to me, as much as you’re insisting; but, I suppose we can… Maybe later.” He turned back to his door and turned the handle. “I’m… still overwhelmed with what I just learned. I need to think this through.”

“Oh, right. Well…” Before Rantaro could finish, Korekiyo was already walking through the doorway. “I’ll see you later, then!” He piped up before Korekiyo could close the door.

The bed was warm and inviting as he sunk in face-first, the mattress giving under his stomach and chest. He pressed his face into his pillow, using his forearms to curl it around the sides of his head. A million thoughts swirled around his head as he tried to keep a grip on what was real. He tried to calm himself by thinking of what had happened, starting from where he had left off. 

_ I remember being boiled alive. _ He thought, recalling his gruesome ‘death’ he had only gone through moments before.  _ Before that, I was hung from the ceiling in a reverse shrimp tie, spun around and around. _ He remembered how clever he thought that was, the reverse shrimp tie being a tie well-known for being hard to breathe in and for causing abdominal exhaustion. And before that…

His heart sank as he recalled his sister. His sister… wasn’t real? Everything they went through… didn’t happen? The more he thought about it, the worse he felt about the situation he was in. It felt as if every moment he had with his sister flashed through his mind, recalling every interaction, trying to grasp onto anything that was real.

As he went through his memories, he felt something deep inside of him shift. The memories turned sour as he desperately tried to cling to them. He grabbed his pillow harder and pushed his face in, making it hard to breathe. His back arched and his knees dug into the bed while his shoulders raised to collide with an upcoming sob. He let out a short shriek into his pillow, thought it muffled the sound. Tears streamed down his face, mostly being absorbed by his mask and pillow, making it even harder to breathe. 

He relaxed his back briefly to lift his head from his pillow. His neck arched, his head facing upwards to inhale a shaky gasp of air. His head lolled back down to face his pillow, but he did not place it back into its previous position. His face contorted ever so slightly, his lips pursed under his mask in an attempt to keep composure, his eyes squinted to prevent any more tears from escaping.

“She loved me.” he whispered. Almost immediately, a sob racked through his throat and he threw his face back down firmly into the pillow. “She… loved me.” He said again, louder, in between sobs. The more he said it, the more unsure he sounded, to the point where it sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

Korekiyo had no idea how long he cried, but he honestly didn’t care. By the end of it, his body was oddly relaxed, limply splayed out on his bed. His cheek rested lightly on the pillow, his head facing the window in his room and the light that peaked out from the curtains. People passed by in the hallway, casting shadows over his vision. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. He was too tired from crying to do anything else, and he slowly drifted to sleep. 


End file.
